Go Army
by talklove
Summary: Ino just got herself sentenced to a year to the Land of Fire's famous and fearsome military school: the Konoha Preparatory Academy. She hasn't got a chance. SasuIno. Resurrected from BodaciousGracious. Chapter 2: Hopeless and Lost Newbie.
1. Chapter 1: The Sentence

_So I took this story from my very, very, very old account BodaciousGracious because I wanted to resurrect it to make it even better. Most of it is the same, though there are a number of changes, and I just crammed in 4 chapters of the old story into this one chapter here. But after this chapter, it's all going to be new stuff! So read on and I hope you like it! Critiques are more than welcome. Read, review, enjoy! _

**-XoxOxoX-**

**Go Army - Chapter One**

"_Stop! Stop!" I heard someone's scream echo through the halls of the locker room. My skin tightened from apprehension and a tickle of fear crawled up and down my neck. _

"_Shut up and plant a good one right here and I'll let you go, sweetie," a sly voice said. I felt a shock go through my body in a split second when I recognized that voice. It was our PE teacher. What in the world was he doing? _

_The screaming stopped and turned into whimpers, "Stop, please stop." I stood there around the corner not knowing what to do or think. What was our teacher doing to this girl? What should I do?! _

'_Ino, come on,' I thought to myself, 'That girl sounds like she's in trouble. You came her to go to the bathroom but now you've got to do something!' _

_I inched towards the turn in the hall and peeked around, as slowly and carefully as I could without being noticed. I had to stop myself from gasping when I saw that our PE teacher was pinning down a student on a bench. They were facing the other way so he wouldn't have been able to notice me peeking from behind and the girl was blindfolded. _

"_Come on, sweetie, just a quick one," he cooed as he caressed the girl's cheek with one hand. Panic started to hit me as my mind raced to figure out what to do. My eyes darted around the hall and caught sight of the hockey stick rack sitting up against the wall across from me. Without event thinking, I grabbed the closest one with my hands shaking. I had a weapon, but now what do I do?! _

"_NO!" the girl kept on pleading. _

_Our teacher chuckled, "Hmm maybe I'll have to-" I cut him off when I charged from around the corner and struck the back of his neck with the hockey stick. _

"_What the-?!" he started to exclaim as he turned around with his hand over the back of his neck. I didn't wait another second. I shut my eyes and with a yell, struck him again twice as hard in the face. The girl screamed, not aware of what was going on. She then fell silent, appearing to have fainted. _

_Our teacher fell to the ground covering his face in pain. I realized I had just turned the situation on myself and I had STRUCK a teacher. But no, I couldn't let him get either the girl or me. With the adrenaline covering my senses, I struck him in the groin and he went limp after a scream in agony. _

_Then from out of nowhere footsteps came running, echoing in the hall where I had come form. I turned around to see the principal and another PE teacher out of breath, dumbfounded and staring at the scene before them. _

"_What the hell is going on in here?!" the principal yelled- almost shrieked- with his face red as a beet. I started to shake, felt the sweat on my palms and my grip on the hockey stick weakening. The tears started to sting my eyes. My throat became dry. _

_Behind me, the PE teacher I struck came to and answered before I could. _

"_She was about to beat the girl on the bench and I came to stop her. But she got me instead," he said weakly. I felt the anger rising in my throat but I couldn't find the words to say anything. I swallowed to get rid of the lump in my throat but failed. I was too scared to move. _

"_You," the principal said fiercely to me, "in my office. NOW." _

**-XoxOxoX-**

I knew that this whole commotion would so go down on my permanent record. The Police could charge me with assault and I'd go to Juvenile Hall.

Images of me in court started to rush to my head and the feeling of innocence started to melt away. I'm a juvenile delinquent. I _struck a teacher_. Everyone would be talking about this. How Ino Yamanaka, a goody-good, had "beaten a teacher with a hockey stick _and_ intended to beat a fellow student".

I sat there in one of the chairs in front of the principal's desk waiting for him to come in. My fingers were tight on the chair's arms and I imagined my fingernails digging deep into the leather. The sweat in my palms was still running and the lump on my throat hadn't gone away at all.

I didn't know what to expect.

No, that was a lie. I'd probably be expelled, sent off the Juvie, forced to do community service and just to rot in the hellhole for adolescents. I had a struck a teacher with a hockey stick for Christ's sake. I took a deep breath in and had a difficult time letting it out.

Finally, after what felt like an agonizing eternity, the door clicked open as the principal made his way in.

I was prepared for the worst.

**-XoxOxoX-**

**3 days later…**

I was suspended from Konoha High for two days. That was it. But the only reason why I was suspended was because they, as in Mom, Dad, and the principal, were still pondering about what to really do with me. He called me back to school on Thursday to tell me what their decision was. My parents had come along, probably to watch the moment where their little Princess would be expelled.

The principal sat in his chair behind his humongous desk. He folded his arms and sat back. I was standing right in front of him. My parents were sitting in the back on the couch. The three of them looked so solemn. Yeah, it was definitely an expulsion.

"Miss Yamanaka…" the principal started, "Due to your inappropriate behavior and juvenile actions, I only have but one thing to say to you." I gulped.

"I am deeply ashamed." I nodded. Sweat started to wet my clasped hands as if they had never dried from a few days ago. My dad whispered something to my mom, but I couldn't hear.

I got busted for everything. The PE teacher wasn't even charged with sexual assault. The girl he was trying to harass fainted so badly she hardly remembered anything. Of course, the teacher lied. He back up what he said in the locker room: that he was trying to stop me from beating the shit out of the girl, but got knocked out himself. Who did they believe? _Him._ Because he was a teacher.

"So, Miss Yamanaka," the principal continued, "You will be punished for your juvenile and preposterous actions of physically assaulting your teacher and initially intending to do the same to a fellow student." I held my breath for what was about to come next.

"You will be transferred from Konoha High School to the Konoha Preparatory Academy for one year_,_" he said. I gawked at him. The Konoha Preparatory Academy was the Land of Fire's military school up in the mountains. _MILITARY SCHOOL. _My mind screamed.

"What?!" I screamed at him, "Why?! It wasn't my fault I swear! I already told you-."

"Enough!" he yelled at me, raising his hand, "It was either that or a year in Juvenile Hall. You're parents already agreed on it." He nodded at my parents. I turned to them.

"Mom! Dad!" I shrieked.

"Calm down, Dear," My mom said quietly, "It's for your own good." Even my parents doubted me.

"Yeah, Ino," my dad said, "By the time you get back, you'll be as buff as those people around there." I rolled my eyes. Leave it to my dad to totally make a seriously serious situation comical and failing.

"But I swear, it was _not_-."

"Ino," My mom said, shutting her eyes, "We've heard it. And all of the evidence points to you. Just take it and not cause anymore trouble, please?"

I started at her. That was all she was going to say to me? Just to take the blame? No way. This was not happening. For once, Mom hasn't backed her little Princess up. I had 'done' something bad and now she can't take that her Princess had finally turned into a bad girl.

"You will start at Konoha Prep a week from now. You'll need that time to gather your things, make mandatory arrangements, and so forth. _But,_I will only give you _one day_, that's it, one last day here in Konoha High. Just to say goodbye and gather all your work, I don't care," the principal said, "But only _one_ day."

**-XoxOxoX-**

I dragged my luggage right behind me as my parents and I strolled across the airport's entrance. I had packed everything. Well, everything that I needed. Twenty pairs of assorted shirts, ten pairs of pants, shorts, and skirts, and all those necessities right down to my toothbrush.

"Well, Ino, this is it," my dad sighed, "Good luck, kid." He patted me on the shoulder. I smiled at him, trying to hold my annoyance back. My mom came swooped over me and gave me a hug.

"Just promise me that you'll be all right, Dear," she said as she squeezed my cheeks.

"Mom, jeez, you're acting like I'm going off to war or something," I said, chuckling.

"Well, Ino, going to Konoha Prep _is_ war," my dad winked at me, "I hear that the kids that are from the academy are cruel, tough military dogs that are merciless." My mom stomped on his foot.

"Ow!" he cried.

"Honey, don't scare her like that!"

"_Flight 29, Konoha Preparatory Academy, ready to board,"_a female voice said over the intercom.

"Now, go on, Ino," my mother said warningly, "You don't want those doors to close on you." I nodded and gave them my final good-byes.

"Bye."

I made my way to the boarding gate, dragging my luggage. I saw a line of teen-aged kids, just like me. They were all chatting and talking to one another. I assumed that this flight was mine. I looked up; the sign said 'Flight 29'.

"This is it," I sighed to myself.

It was odd, my dad said kids from Konoha Prep were "cruel, tough military dogs that were merciless" but it seemed to me that these kids were just like the ones back in Konoha High. I sighed. Dad and his attempts to be funny…

I went to the back of the line and took out my ticket and passport for identification. A few more kids lined up behind me and it took me a while to feel that someone was tapping on my shoulder.

"Huh? I turned around to see a really weird looking guy behind me. He had a bowl-cut hairdo and had extremely thick eyebrows.

"Hello!" he said cheerfully. He stuck out his hand, "I am Rock Lee. You are-?"

"Yamanaka Ino. Nice to meet you," I took his hand and shook it with a smile. I just barely met this guy and I'm already saying nice to meet you.

"You must be new to Konoha Prep. I haven't seen you around the academy, or at the least, the airport for departure and arrival." I smiled at him. I liked him already. He seemed nice, sweet, and like all the sun's sunlight was inside him.

"Yes, I'm new," I said, "But I'm not going on my own free will."

Lee looked at her with a questioning look, "And why is that, if you don't mind me asking?" The line moved up.

"Well, it's a long story…" I said, looking out the big windows, seeing the plane. I sighed. Lee looked at me.

"It's okay, Yamanaka-san," he said smiling, "You don't need to tell me."

I turned back to him as the line moved up again, "Thanks Lee-sa-!" I bumped into something. More like someone ahead of me. That 'someone' had a strong, solid back, black hair shaped like a chicken's bottom and eyes like stone.

"Oops! Uhm, I'm sorry!" I said frantically, trying to regain my composure.

The guy only grunted in reply before he turned back to the front. Lee chuckled.

"Looks like you bumped into the Uchiha boy," he whispered to me.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Ticket please?" the attendant said, holding out her long-nailed hand. I handed it to her and took the handle of my luggage bag.

"Thank you, Ma'am. Next!" she handed my ticket back after checking and I made my way to the security check. I saw Lee right behind me, carrying his jumbo bag on his back that I didn't even notice till now.

"Who is this Uchiha boy?" I asked Lee as we set our bags on the conveyer belt for them to go though the x-ray. Lee shrugged.

"He's just one of the 'hearthrob' boys at Konoha Prep and a fearsome candidate." At the word 'heartthrob' he used his hands to make air quotes. I giggled.

"You still use air quotes?"

He smiled his funny smile, "Yeah. I know, so middle school, right? But youth within us never dies!"

I saw the Uchiha boy two security booths down. He was looking at me. I quickly tore my gaze from his and turned my attention back to my stuff. I stepped through the metal sensor and gathered my things. I still could sense eyes on me. I didn't dare to turn to where I felt it was coming from. I just stared straight ahead.

I waited for Lee to finish and at the same time, tried to resist looking at the Uchiha boy. I mean, he was pretty cute, I guess. He at least had a decent face- better than many at Konoha High.

"Ready?" Lee asked, making his way to the entrance of the plane. At the side of the plane, it said 'Konoha Preparatory Academy'.

"Yeah, I'm ready," I mumbled as I followed him.

I really wasn't.

**-XoxOxoX-**

I sat in my seat right next to the window in complete silence. The other kids were chatting like crazy and were leaning over their seats to talk to the people behind them. One person even had the nerve to stand in the middle of the aisle to talk to his buddy. But the worst part of it was…I was sitting right next to Mr. ChickenButtHead Uchiha.

Now, I'm not making fun of him, but honestly was his hair muse a chicken's bottom? When he sat down right next to me, he didn't even flinch. I don't even think that he even cared. And as the plane took off in the air, he fell right asleep…leaning in my direction. I had to sit up against the wall.

Lee was sitting a few seats in front of me and it looked like he was having a laugh. It looked like he was sitting with his good friends. All I knew was that the person he was sitting with had brown hair and had a dog. I though pets were supposed to be kept in cages when flying on planes.

I felt a something land on my shoulder as I watched the movie they were playing on the screen at the front of the plane. I looked down on my left shoulder and saw the Uchiha's head laying there. He was still sleeping like a baby. I didn't know what to do, but I knew he was going to sleep the whole way to the academy because I saw him take a sleeping pill before falling asleep.

What was I supposed to do? Let him sleep? Or whack him awake?

I sighed. I saw two other boys across from our aisle whispering to each other while glancing back our way. I ignored them and leaned back on Uchiha, to make it more comfortable for myself even though it would have been giving the wrong message. I stared out the open window.

This was going to be a long flight.

**-XoxOxoX-**

_Sasuke POV_

I woke up with a start.

'Ugh, my head hurts,' I thought, rubbing my forehead. I felt something warm right next to me and above my head. Someone was sleeping on me.

"What the-" I started to say, but stayed still. I didn't want to wake her up, embarrassing both of us. I slowly maneuvered myself out from under her, gently pushing her to the wall of the plane. Her head slightly banged on the window.

"Owww," she mumbled. She was still asleep.

I looked around the plane, looks like everyone was sleeping . The lights were turned off except for on seat, which was Sai's. He was probably drawing or reading. Annoying snoring filled the whole plane and it irritated me to no end.

I looked past the girl's head and out the window and it was pitch black outside. I looked down on my watch. "Hn, midnight," I whispered aloud. The girl stirred and flipped over, facing me.

She was pretty all right, I had to admit, but I could sense that she had a hot temper. After all, she was blonde and the blondes I've come to know are pretty short on patience. But her.. she has a curious aura about her.

Her breathing was low and content, no snoring whatsoever. It was definitely quieter than sitting right next Naruto because him snoring is like a bullhorn. Luckily, he's in a different cabin.

'Just one more hour,' I sighed and lay back on my seat.

And finally, the light from Sai's seat turned off.

**-XoxOxoX-**

_Ino POV_

"Wake up," someone shook me on the shoulder. "Wake up, we're here."

"Huh?" I muttered, rubbing my eyes, "Just five more minutes." I heard the person sigh.

"Unless you want to fly back, you better wake up," my mother said. Mom shook me again.

"I'm up! I'm up!" I yelled, "Jeez Mom-!" I froze. It wasn't mom who had tried to wake me up. It was the Uchiha boy, not Mom. He was staring at me like I was crazy or something. Everyone was looking at me, too. "

Yeah, Uchiha's your mama," one guy wearing a cat hood laughed at me.

Everyone started to laugh. "Hn, whatever," Uchiha took his bags and filed out with the rest of them.

I sulked back into my seat. I don't even know these people and I had just embarrassed myself right in front of them. I rubbed my temples as I waited for the last people to get out. I didn't want to face them again, let alone make more of a fool out of myself.

"Yamanaka-san!" I heard Lee call for me. I stood up and took my bags with me. Lee was at the exit, waving to me. "Hurry, before we miss the shuttle!" And he hurried on, with me right behind him.

"What happened back there?" Lee asked me.

"Yeah, calling Uchiha Sasuke your mom," someone said behind me.

"Ah!" I jumped.

"Kiba! You didn't have to pop up like that," Lee scolded. It was the guy Lee was sitting next to on the plane.

"Well, sorry," Kiba said, chuckling. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba, nice to meet you- uhm…" he held out his hand.

"Yamanaka Ino," I said, shaking his hand. A dog barked somewhere.

"What was that?" I asked, confused of where the barking was coming from.

"Akamaru!" Kiba took his bag and unzipped it.

A cute dog popped out and jumped on me. I shrieked in surprise and almost fell back as I caught the dog in my arms.

"Down, Boy!" Lee said, grabbing him. All around us, other Konoha Prep students were staring at us while walking to the airport entrance to the shuttle pick-up.

"What is up with you guys?" a shrill voice said to us.

I turned to see a red haired girl strolling to us, carrying a purse. "You guys are such dorks; carrying mutts around the place," she said. She looked at me and sneered.

"Oh, you must be that new girl I heard about. The one who beat up a student and a teacher with a hockey stick." She sneered, "Hm, guess they don't train dogs well."

I stared at her and suddenly go angry, with her and whoever spread my story. I was not going to be known as that person.

"Don't call me a dog," I said angrily.

She giggled, "Oh, what are you going to do about it?" I only glared at her.

"Are you going to smack me with a hockey stick too?" the red haired girl smirked.

I saw Sasuke walking past us, carrying his bags. Our eyes met, just for a second before, "Ohhh! Sasuke! Let me walk with you!" the red girl said in her little sweet-ass voice. Sasuke groaned and walked faster, almost jogging.

"Sasuke! Wait for me, please?"

The girl strutted away, swinging those hips so exaggeratingly it looked like they would pop out of place at any moment. Lee and Kiba laughed.

"Dude, I don't get how she can walk like that," Kiba wiped his teary eyes from laughing too hard.

"Who was that?" I asked Lee, who was still holding Akamaru.

"That was Karin. She used to be one of us, until she hung out with these two other girls. All three of them are known as 'The Plastics'."

"With those hips? Psh, more like she _got_ **plastic** surgery," I said. They burst out laughing.

**-XoxOxoX-**

After the half an hour shuttle ride, we were finally at the academy.

'Finally!' I sighed in my mind as I rubbed my temples.

The place was _amazing_. The building was tall and wide and it didn't look like a military academy at all, more like a military base. The windows were huge, bullet-proof glass slabs that were held together by strong, thick steel poles. Tall brick walls made of linder surrounded the campus and front gates that looked like a tank couldn't knock them down. At the front, a heavy looking metallic sign stood. In golden letters, it said 'Konoha Preparatory Academy.' I stared in awe, I mean...it was engraved in _gold._

The front courtyard was grassy and wide, separating the building from the parking lot. No one was outside, but vehicles of any type were parked out in the lot, only leaving some few open spaces. The train of shuttle aligned behind one another along side the drop-off.

"Okay, you lil' army goers," the driver said. He turned around to face his young passengers, "Good luck this semester and don't go on and get yer lil' selves into trouble, now." He looked at Kiba at the last sentence.

"Aye aye Cap'n," Kiba said, smiling and rolling his eyes. The driver turned to Ino as one-by-one the passengers filed out to gather their things from the back, "Lil' Lady, watch out for them Chess, ya got tha'?" He nodded at me solemnly. I looked at him, trying not to look disturbed. Finally, I nodded and got out after Lee.

"See ya's later army goers!" And with that, he sped off with the other shuttles.

I looked at Lee, "Lee? What was he talking about when he said 'Watch out for the Chess'?" Lee looked hesitant as he exchanged glances with Kiba.

"Bah, they're just gender-confused assholes who think they rule the school," Kiba said, shaking his head as they made their way to the building.

I replied, "Oh, okay. Is that red haired girl one of them?"

Lee shook his head, "No, she's more of a wannabe." Kiba laughed.

"Yeah! She follows them around the whole time, spit hanging over her mouth." we all laughed. I was glad I met these guys. They calmed my nerves even just a little bit and that was all I needed right now.

I sighed as we made our way into the front building.

'_This is gonna be an interesting year,'_ I thought.


	2. Chapter 2: Hopeless and Lost Newbie

"Kiba-san, Ino-san, over here!" Lee called us over for he went way ahead of us 'to look for more friends' in the midst of the crowd walking into the main building.

"Is he always this chipper?" I tiredly asked Kiba, "He's so energetic even though it's about two in the morning right about now."

"Yeah, pretty much," he said as he smiled, showing his sharp teeth, "To be honest, I've never seen the guy down. Well, only when someone beats his pushup, hand stand and sit up records."

As he finished his sentence we came up to a small group of three Lee was standing with along with their luggage. One was a girl with brown hair and two buns on top of her head. Another was a boy with hair as long as mine except dark brown and there was something peculiar about his eyes… they were all white. The last boy was even more peculiar; he wore sunglasses and wore a large hood even indoors, even in the middle of the night.

"Ino-san," Lee said happily, "I'd like for you to meet Ten Ten, Hyuga Neji and Aburame Shino. They're good friends of ours. Guys, this is Ino Yamanaka-san. She's new here!"

"Jeez, Lee, it's two in the morning. Pipe down!" the girl Ten Ten, with the brown buns, groaned as she rubbed the back of her neck out of soreness. She then turned to me, smiled and took my hand, "How do you do? Nice to meet you Yamanaka-san!"

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," the boy with long hair, Neji, said politely with the tiniest curve on his lips.

"Pleasure," Shino said. I couldn't tell if he was smiling under his large collar or not.

Suddenly a smooth female voice sounded across the large lobby of the main building before anyone else could say anything, _"Students, please make your way to your dorms and promptly be at the auditorium tomorrow morning at 7:30 am. I repeat, promptly be at the auditorium tomorrow morning at 7:30 am." _

"Alright, time to head off to settle in and get some shut eye," Kiba said as he yawned and stretched, "See ya." He grabbed his bags and walked off with Shino.

"I'm off to the gym for some early training! Would you like to come, Neji?" Lee asked excitedly, already jogging in place.

"No," Neji said with an irritated look as he turned to leave, "I'll see you guys tomorrow." Lee shrugged then charged off to the apparent direction of the gym without a second glance back at us. People jumped out of the way and grumbled in annoyance. Ten Ten sighed and then turned her attention to me.

"So Yamanaka-san," she said, "I'm guessing you have your profile paper? It should have your dorm assignment listed along with your schedule." I nodded as I took the piece of paper that my parents had given me out from my backpack.

"It says my dorm is in building B, room 2," I read. Ten Ten's face lightened up.

"Oh! That's the same room I'm in," she said as we picked up our bags and joined the moving crowd again, "I'll take you there." I was glad I didn't have to find the room myself in confusion. If I had gotten lost that would not have been a good first impression. The place seemed three times as huge as Konoha High.

Two buildings away later, we were in front of the doors that led to our assigned room with a ton of other girls. I looked around at how many there were and the number looked to be about 50. How big was the damn room?

"Oh look here," I heard someone say behind me, voice dripping like how a sadist's would, "The dog's in our room too."

Ten Ten and I turned around to see the red haired girl, Karin, with two other girls. The shortest one had untamed, long, dark pink hair and a natural scowl on her face. The other was the tallest and had purple hair with a purple flower sitting up on the right side of her head. Her poker face was unreadable.

These girls must be "the Plastics" as Lee called them. I could see why; their beauty looked almost inhuman- almost goddess like. Well, except for Karin, it seemed like the plastic name pointed to the way she walked.

"Shut up, Karin," the short one said looking extremely irritated, "It's two in the fucking morning. Pick on her tomorrow." The purple haired girl stayed silent and merely studied me with dull eyes, making me wary of her. I already didn't like Karin and now I didn't like the other two.

"Leave her alone," Ten Ten said, pushing herself halfway in front of me, "She hasn't done anything to you, Karin-_chan_." Ten Ten said the last part with a mocking tone.

"You, Pork Hair Buns," the short girl said, "You shut the fuck up too before I do something about it."

"You shut up too, Tayuya, or you're going to be on bathroom duty for the whole first semester," a harsh voice interrupted behind us. There stood an older woman in about her mid or late 20's with black-ish purple hair that spiked up behind her head. She wore a green vest that signified seniority from what little I learned about the school from Lee and Kiba on the shuttle ride.

The short girl, Tayuya, mumbled some profanity but then shut her mouth. The woman then made her way to the front of the crowd of girls waiting at the door to Room B2 and cleared her throat.

"LADIES, I AM MITARASHI ANKO, JOUNIN, AND I WILL BE YOUR DEN MOTHER FOR THIS YEAR. AS ANY OTHER YEAR, YOU SHALL GO TO YOUR DEN MOTHER, ME, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS," her sharp voice rang across our ears. Man was this woman loud. Too loud.

"NOW, I AM DIFFERENT THAN OTHER DEN MOTHERS THAT YOU'VE HAD. I AM THE SINGLE MOST BRUTAL, STRICT AND DEMANDING DEN MOTHER. I AM NOT GOING TO SUGAR COAT THAT FOR YOU LADIES."

"It's two in the fucking morning," I heard Tayuya grumble behind me, "Holy shit, too loud for two in the fucking morning." I silently agreed with her.

"ROOM RULES! ONE: EVERYTHING IN YOUR RESPECTED TRUNKS, NO BAGS UNDER OR NEXT TO YOUR BEDS. TWO: ROOM MUST BE CLEAN AT ALL TIMES. CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF. THREE: NO BOYS. FOUR…"

Her yelling of instructions seemed to go on for an eternity. Lights out at 11, wake up at 5 in the morning, morning workout at 5:15, showers at 6:30, breakfast at 7, first class at 7:30, uniforms to be worn at all times other than during physical activities, weekends and morning workouts. Oh boy, forget about an _interesting _year… make it a tough-as-hell year. I could barely wake up at 7:30 in the morning for 8:30 class when I was at Konoha High.

"ALRIGHT LADIES, YOUR BEDS HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO YOU WITH YOUR NAMES AT THE TOP OF THE TRUNK PLACED IN FRONT OF YOUR BED. BUNK BEDS HAVE THEIR TRUNKS SIDE BY SIDE. DECIDE WHO GETS THE TOP AND BOTTOM. SEE YOU IN THE AUDITORIUM AT 7:30 AM AFTER THE MORNING WORKOUT TOMORROW!" And with that, she unlocked the door, threw it open with so much force that it slammed against the wall and walked off. Everyone started to go inside with their bags, mumbling about how too loud this Anko lady was.

"Oh man," Ten Ten said, "What luck that we'd have the notorious Mitarashi Anko as our den mother."

"She's… loud," I said.

"Yeah, and that's not all she's known for. But hey, I'll see you tomorrow morning alright? Get quickly settled in and get some quick shut eye," Ten Ten said, "Bathroom's over there to the left and make sure you put all your stuff in your trunk."

"Thanks," I said, genuinely smiling. I was glad she was there to help me. I would be a lost puppy without her.

I looked around for my assigned bed as Ten Ten went the other direction to the other side of the big room. Twenty-six single beds and twenty-four bunk beds were aligned right next to each other in 5 rows of ten. Each, like that loud Anko lady had said, had trunks at one end of the beds.

I scanned each trunk and finally found mine with another right next to it.

'_Konan,' _read the trunk next to mine. From the bottom of my heart, I was grateful that it wasn't Karin or that Tayuya girl. I looked around to see that they were on the other side of the room near the entrance settling themselves in.

I didn't even notice the purple haired girl pop up next to me, opening the trunk next to mine. She quickly threw in the small bags she had, closed it, and turned to me. So this was Konan. The relief I felt suddenly shattered.

"Shall I take the top bunk or the bottom?" she asked bluntly, the poker face still going on. I couldn't tell if she was disgusted or annoyed finding out I was to share a bunk bed with her.

"Err.. I prefer the bottom," I answered hesitantly. She merely nodded and climbed the ladder up to the top, still in her clothes. Was she really going straight to sleep without changing?

I took out my pajamas and toothbrush and placed them on the clean bed. I tried to cram all my things into my trunk but to no avail so I sighed, giving up, and decided to just throw my biggest bag into a closet I noticed a few feet away. I opened the door and saw that it was, weirdly, completely empty. No one else's stuff was in there and the other girls already looked mostly settled in.

I shrugged and threw my bag in without a care. More room for my stuff I guess.

As I walked back to my bunk, I saw the Konan girl looking at me as she lay on her bed. The way her eyes looked at me scared me a little bit. She wasn't loud like Karin and not so cruel looking like Tayuya but she was definitely still creepy. What's her deal?

"Did you need something?" I asked with an eyebrow raised as I came up to our bunk bed. She stared at me for a few more seconds before replying.

"Only girls who know nothing use the closet and wear pajamas to sleep," she said, then turned her back to me and settled into a sleeping position.

I stood there with my mouth slightly hanging open. Did she just insult me? I grumbled in annoyance, feeling my short temper starting to come boil. There didn't seem to be an end of infuriating people around here.

I grabbed my pajamas and toothpaste and made my way to the bathroom, ignoring the questioning faces the other girls made at me along the way.

I already didn't like this place.

**-XoxOxoX-**

"RISE AND SHINE LADIES," I heard Mitarashi-sensei's sharp voice crack through my slumber, "UP AND ABOUT, TIME TO JOG OVER TO THE TRAINING GROUNDS NOW. SINGLE FILE!"

I barely had any time to make sense of the rustling around me for the sleep in my eyes was still there.

"Wha-?! What's going on?" I said, disoriented. The room was still dim since no one had bothered to turn on the lights but I could make out figures of girls quickly getting out of bed, putting on their shoes or making their way to join the forming line at the entrance of the dorm.

"Ino!" I saw a shadow figure with two buns a few feet away about join the line of girls, "Come on! Don't be left behind; it's the morning workout!"

Still groggy, I quickly understood why Konan had gone straight to bed without changing and I cursed myself for not following suit. There was no time to dilly-dally and change from your pajamas into workout clothes.

I was seriously gonna look like a total idiot out there in a purple cami and purple pajama bottoms.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING MAGGOT?" Mitarashi-sensei was right up in my face as I quickly sat up on my bed trying to find my shoes. Her face was contorted into what looked like a fierce glare and I could feel her spit spraying at my face as she yelled.

"GET YOUR ASS UP AND GET IN LINE. NOW. I DON'T CARE IF YOUR SHOES AREN'T TIED AND I SURE AS HELL DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE GOING OUT THERE IN THOSE PJ'S!"

I obeyed with adrenaline pumping through my system; the disorientation forced me to just obey. What choice did I have? I got up and ran to the back of the line with a few other girls. My shoelaces were barely tied together.

I heard the door bang open at the head of the line.

"GO! GO! GO! JOG TO THE TRAINING GROUNDS AND I BETTER SEE A PERFECTLY STRAIGHT LINE, LADIES!"

The line quickly moved and I noticed that the other girls' jogging was totally in sync. I struggled to keep up with the pace along with stepping with the right foot. Still being sleepy-eyed and tired as I was, I couldn't think straight and just followed the pack of girls. All I heard were the sounds of feet running on the ground in unison and Mitarashi-sensei's yelling.

I was so out of it that I didn't even notice other lines of girls and boys had joined us on our run to the training grounds. I looked around and they were all just as in sync. A few of them stole glances my way and narrowed their eyes in what looked like confusion.

I know, bastards, I'm in purple pajamas. Don't look at me like that.

"Why in the world are you wearing that?" I heard someone say next to me. It was Kiba, whose line of boys had aligned with ours. He had an extremely questioning look on his face that was just as confused as the others.

"I didn't know!" I said, huffing. I knew that there'd be a morning workout but I honestly thought we'd have time to change. I wanted to slap myself. This was military school; I should have known that there'd be some bogus rule like this.

While everyone was in gray, white or black clothes I was wearing purple. I stood out like a sore thumb as far as I could tell.

The air outside was a lot chillier than I expected. It was at the end of August and down at the mainland it would have been tolerable but up in the mountains at the academy it was pretty cold. I regretted changing into my pajamas even more.

The sky was still dark and a small wind blew against us as we reached the large, open grass that was surrounded by tall, thick fences. Tall lights that would have been fit for a soccer stadium lit up the whole space. One whole side consisted of difficult-looking obstacle courses that had too many things to go through, a mud pit with barbed wire hanging two feet over it, and a track with more grass in the middle. To say the least, the place was huge.

"A-TEEEEN-HUT!" a bowl-cut haired man hollered as all the lines fell into order alternating between girls and boys. The organization of these kids started to scare me a little… it was almost as if they were being controlled like robots to act so precisely. The teachers barely had half this control over the students back at Konoha High.

Everyone suddenly raised their straight arms and slapped them down on their thighs in unison making me jump. It was too late to follow that now. I straightened up my back and arms, held my chin high and tried to make it look like I had done the same thing.

Why the hell hasn't someone given me some fucking orientation for this or something?

With my peripherals, I stole glances at the people around me. Kiba was a few lines down in the same row. Neji was a few rows ahead of me in the adjacent line. I couldn't find anyone else familiar.

Then my eyes landed on a black chicken's ass that was on the other side of Neji. I totally forgot about the Uchiha boy but what I didn't understand was my sudden interest in him. Sure, he was cute, but usually that wasn't enough for me to suddenly have curiosity for a boy- or for anyone, really.

"GOOD MORNING, YOUTHFUL CHILDREN!" my thoughts were interrupted by the man's shouting that was as loud as Mitarashi-sensei's, "FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW ME ALREADY, I AM MIGHT GUY, JOUNIN, AND YOUR MORNING WORKOUT TRAINER."

This guy was definitely as loud as Mitarashi-sensei.

Did he use a real bowl for that haircut?

"WE WILL BEGIN WITH THE ROUTINE STARTING SET THEN PROCEED TO THE MINIMUM SET OF LAPS AROUND THE TRACK. THAT WILL BE IT FOR TODAY'S MORNING WORKOUT. THIS IS YOUR FIRST DAY BACK SO I'LL GO EASY ON YOU!"

It was too early for this. Oh god.

"100 PUSHUPS, 100 SIT UPS, 100 LEG LIFTS, AND 16 LAPS AROUND THE TRACK. AS ALWAYS, GO AT YOUR OWN PACE. PARTNER UP IF YOU HAVE TO! YOU HAVE ONE HOUR AND 15 MINUTES! GO!"

_What?_

Suddenly everybody dropped to the ground and got right into doing pushups before I could even blink. I dropped down on my own hands and started myself, grogginess still making me obey no matter what objections my conscience had.

How in the hell am I supposed to do all that in an hour and 15?

"1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7!...31! 32! 33!" I heard someone counting as fast as lightning. What in the world are these people? Machines? Who in the fucking world could do 33 pushups in 15 seconds?

"Shut up Lee and just do your damn pushups!" I heard someone yell back in annoyance.

By the time I was (painfully) at 50, I glanced up and saw that people were already jogging their way to the track to start their laps. My gut suddenly fell in urgency. I did not want to be left behind as badly as I could be right now. That would be too embarrassing.

"Come on Tinky Winky **(A.N.: the purple telletubby)**, better get that ass up and running," Tayuya sneered at me as she jogged past me along with a few others to the track. I growled but didn't say anything back for I was growing too tired.

By the time I finished my set of sit ups, there were only about a handful of us left but it looked like the others were almost done with their set of leg lifts.

I gave up. My arms ached, my abs burned and I was exhausted. I laid there on the cold grass drenched in sweat and heavily breathing feeling like I was gonna puke any second.

"What's this?" a shadow formed over me and I opened my eyes to see Guy-sensei looking down at me with his hands on his hips. Him wearing a tight, green work out suit didn't make the view appealing at all.

"Are you giving up?!" he asked loudly. He thrust his fist up into the air with a big smile that shined brighter than the lights, "Giving up is not an option here! Continue! Persevere! FIGHT!" This guy was ridiculous.

In between heavy breaths, I shook my head, "I can't…"

"You can! The youth burns within everyone, including the weakest!" He just called me weak but I didn't blame him; I wasn't exactly the fittest back in PE at Konoha High and the other kids were way, way, way ahead of me in their sets.

"Guy-sensei! We're finished!" Lee and a few others suddenly came up running to where the two of us were. I had just barely started my leg lifts. These people were definitely machines.

"Alright, you have my permission to leave!" Guy-sensei said, flashing another smile and a thumbs-up, "Good job, boys!"

Another shadow formed above me and I looked up to see who else decided to come up and annoy me. It was an unfamiliar guy who had short white hair, purple eyes and light skin.

"Not much of an athlete, are you dollie?" he said with a grin that showed sharp teeth. I flinched at the nickname, even more annoyed than before. Why didn't everyone just leave me alone? It was bad enough just being left behind, on the ground, wearing purple pajamas soaked in sweat.

"Let's go, Suigetsu," I heard a smooth voice say. I glanced up at the sound and caught a second's sight of the Uchiha boy's back retreating away. I felt heat rushing to my cheeks in embarrassment.

The guy Suigetsu made a small farewell salute with two fingers and said mockingly, "See ya. By the way nice pajamas, dollie." I felt the redness on my cheeks burn even more.

"What is your name, young one?!" Guy-sensei asked a little too enthusiastically.

"Yamanaka Ino," I said, totally done with everyone at the moment. I slowly sat up and rubbed my sore neck and arms, not wanting to do any more of these sets.

"Alright, Yamanaka-san! We will go through the motions together and stick to it until we finish! HUP!" Guy-sensei threw himself on his back and started doing leg lifts faster than anyone I've ever seen before.

"Let's go!" he yelled in between grunts.

I sighed and fell backwards on my back with a groan.

I hated this place.

**-XoxOxoX- **

Everyone filed into the auditorium, chattering away with one another and fully clad in the academy's uniform. The uniforms were a lot better than I expected. Dark blue slacks and skirts, dark blue blazers, white dress shirts, and red ties. I noticed some people had different numbers of pins on one of their breast pockets.

Ten Ten and I sat down next to the rest of the group and while everyone was chatting away, I was sitting basking in my pain and frustration. It was barely my first day here and I was already having a difficult time keeping up. My anger from being sentenced to this place started to boil again.

"Are you alright, Yamanaka-san?" Neji, who was sitting beside me, asked. I snapped out of my thoughts and noticed my hands were clenched in fists. I shook it off and glanced up at him with an uneasy smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. He nodded in reply just as someone's voice took over the whole auditorium.

"Welcome back returning students and welcome new students," an old man's voice said through the microphone, "It's great to have you all here at the Konoha Preparatory Academy and seeing all your bright faces." There was a short old man with white hair, tan skin, and dressed in a dark red suit standing at the head of the stage.

Bright faces? Mine was anything but bright.

"For those who aren't familiar of who I am, my name is Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Commandant of this academy. Now I don't want to bore you with lame introductions as I have before… but I'm going to anyway." He received light laughter from the audience and a few groans.

At that point, I tuned out at what he was saying, not caring for anything at all. I hate this place so I saw no reason to listen about the boring history of the academy, who ran it the military values and honor code of soliders. Blah blah blah. Meaningless words to me.

Then I felt someone flick the back of my head. I winced in pain and turned around to see Suigetsu sitting right behind me with the same mischievous grin on his face from earlier this morning. Right next to him sat the Uchiha boy who just looked at me with stoic eyes and not looking amused at Suigetsu's antic. Did this guy even have emotion?

"Hey, dollie," Suigetsu whispered, leaning in to get closer to me, "Fancy seeing you again."

I glared at him, the annoyance from earlier coming back and making my temper boil a little more.

"It isn't fancy seeing _you_ again, shark boy," I hissed.

"Oooooh, Sasuke, she's feisty," Suigestsu said to the Uchiha boy, "I like feisty."

"Shut up Suigetsu," Sasuke merely said in a low voice, "I apologize for my idiot of a friend." I looked at him kind of surprised by his apology.

"Uh…It's okay," I said then turned back around.

"Aww Sasuke, you ruin all the fun," I heard Suigetsu say but he left me alone.

Once the introduction assembly finally finished, everyone headed off for their first day of classes. Being the lost dog that I am and having no idea of where the rooms and buildings were, Neji volunteered to escort me to my first class since his was apparently right next to mine.

"Yamanaka-san," Neji said right before we split to go into our separate classrooms, "I advise you to stay away from Hozuki Suigetsu, Uchiha Sasuke and the rest of their pack." I blinked, remembering what the shuttle driver had warned me about.

"Are they by any chance called the Chess?" I asked before I could stop myself. Neji slightly raised his eyebrows.

"You're already familiar with them?"

"No, the shuttle driver last night warned me to 'stay away from the Chess'," I said, "I didn't know what he was talking about but Kiba told me they think they run the school or something."

"That is half true," Neji said, turning to start walking off, "But please keep in mind to not associate yourself with any of them."

So far, no one's told me what the Chess really were. All I've gotten were warnings. What was the deal with this Chess group? If they're some popular clique here I don't see how fearsome they must be if someone as obnoxious as that Suigetsu guy was in it. I brushed the warning off my shoulder, frustrated that no one's even told me who they really were.

"Would you like me to escort you to your next class?" Neji asked. I shook my head.

"No, it's alright, your class is the other direction anyway," I said, "I can find my way."

**-XoxOxoX-**

These classes were nothing like the regular high school classes in Konoha High. Military Tactics, Military History, Weapons of War, Nuclear Physics, Espionage 101, Government and Politics… the list of classes unheard of went on and on. Even on the first day of class with everyone starting a clean slate, I had a hard time keeping up with the lectures. I was scribbling notes frantically while everyone else was writing so slowly as if they had all the time in the world. It already seemed like they knew what the sensei was talking about.

I was thankful when the lunch session came around because I couldn't handle any more information being thrown at me and my wrist was aching from writing so much.

"How's your day been going?" Kiba asked me as we sat at a round table in the huge, elegant dining hall. I poked at my mashed potatoes and glared at nothing at particular.

"Horrible," I said. Kiba chuckled as people started to join us at the table.

"Looks like you need to break yourself in," Kiba said, "It's all good; it took a lot of us some time to adjust to this place; it's been rigorous since the lower grade levels."

"Hey! I don't think I've met you before," a tan boy with blonde spiky hair and a big smiled said as he placed his tray of food next to Kiba.

"Hey, Naruto," Kiba greeted him, "This is Ino. I just met her last night. She's new here."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," he said with a grin, holding out his hand for me to shake, "Nice to meet you Ino-chan!" For some reason, it felt like this guy lit up the whole room. It was like he was glowing with so much energy that I was almost bombarded by it. At least he didn't seem off like a most of the people I've encountered. I took his hand and gave a smile back.

"Nice to meet you Naruto," I said. He was the only one I hadn't yet met at the table so there were no other introductions. The group chitchatted away with one another about how their classes were, complaining about the way some teachers taught, and wondering where the rest of their friends were.

All through that, I merely sat there feeling like an outsider, unusually shy for the first time in my life. I hardly knew any of these people, even though I was glad they accepted my presence, so I didn't feel right starting a conversation with anyone. I just listened in on conversations from the side or just spaced out in my own thoughts for the most part.

When my mind came to the Chess, the frustration started to resurface. Who the hell were these people and why was everyone warning me about them? Overcoming my feeling of being an outsider and letting my frustration take over, I turned to Ten Ten beside me and asked her.

"Ten Ten, who exactly are the Chess?"

"Didn't I tell you who they were?" Kiba said, butting in with a smirk, "Gender confused assholes who think they run the school." Ten Ten rolled her eyes as Naruto and Kiba laughed and fist bumped.

"Oh shut up, you two," Ten Ten scolded, then turned her attention back to me, "They're considered the elite of the academy even though there's no official proclamation that they _are_ the elite."

"They just made that name for themselves and even assigned themselves positions," Kiba said, "Like King, Queen, Rook, Knight, etcetera. I think it's pretty dumb."

"So basically, they're just a clique," I said. That didn't sound so fearsome to me. Why did I even need to be warned about these people if they're just like the "popular" clique back in regular high school?

"Yeah, a clique of stuck up jerks," Kiba corrected me.

"But you can't deny how formidable and dangerous they are," Neji said, "Which is why I advised Yamanaka-san to avoid them."

"Yeah, more than half their members take a spot in the top 25 in this school," Ten Ten added, "They're the teacher's favorites. Any of them can get away with anything, so it's best if you stay away from them."

So they're formidable and dangerous assholes. That still failed to scare me.

"Speaking of the Chess, there's one of their asshole Knights right there," Naruto said with a challenging grin.

"Hey Sasuke-_chan_!" he mockingly called to the chicken haired boy that was walking by a few tables over, "Ready to get your ass whooped in physical training today?"

"I just said to stay away from them," Ten Ten sighed, face palming as Naruto continued his teasing, "But this guy… always just asking for trouble. "

"Get lost," Sasuke said bluntly as he walked away with a stoic glare, "Idiot."

"HEY! Come back here and say that again!" Naruto angrily said as he started to get out of his chair.

"Sasuke's been Naruto's rival ever since the lower grade levels at the academy," Kiba said to me, "Or well, at least Naruto thinks he is."

"I almost beat his ass the final round in sparring last semester!" Naruto defended himself, "No one came even close to how I got!" Kiba waved his hand in the air, as if waving off Naruto's defense.

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard it."

While they bickered, I watched Sasuke walk towards a table that consisted of five others. I figured they must be the Chess for they looked more… I don't know the word- regal?- than the rest of the students. They still wore the standard uniform as everyone else, but something else stood out from them.

Sasuke sat down next to a boy with shaggy red hair and droopy looking eyes. The next over was an older boy who looked almost exactly like me with long blonde hair and long bangs that covered his left eye. Next to him, was another older boy with orange, spiky hair that was similar to Naruto's. Beside him sat yet another older boy with sleek, silver hair. The last one had the same silver hair but longer in a low ponytail and looked just as old.

I watched them as they conversed with each other, my curiosity growing with every second. I suddenly made eye contact with the boy with the sleek silver hair as he looked around the dining hall. He smirked at me then snapped his fingers at Sasuke to get his attention and nodded in my direction.

Sasuke glanced up in my direction just as I tore away my eyes and pretended I was looking down at my food. That guy must think I'm stalking him now, goddamit Ino why did you just do that?

"Don't tell me you're taking an interest in Uchiha," Kiba said with narrowed eyes that looked suspicious, apparently noticing what just happened, "Please don't tell me you're gonna turn into one of his fangirls."

"Wha-?" I stammered, turning red, "Of course not! I was just-"

"Just checking him out, yeah, yeah, we've heard it," Kiba waved my defense off just as he did to Naruto, "Wait in line with the other girls."

"In all seriousness, Yamanaka-san," Neji said, looking at me dead in the eyes- the whiteness made a small chill run down my spine, "Stay away from him and the rest of them."

I had enough of the warnings but I just nodded, hoping none would come my way anymore.

**-XoxOxoX-**

He was in my Physical Training class. Of all the goddamn classes, it just had to be this one. In a lecture class, I could have bluffed myself to make it look like I could keep up but in Physical Training, I was embarrassingly and hopelessly behind. I spent half the time resting in between exercises while everyone else continued on without difficulty. Uchiha Sasuke proved to be one of the ones on top, with me in the bottom.

The class was basically PE on steroids or the morning workout multiplied by two, except we didn't have to run the track; we had the obstacle course, mud pits and sparring circles. It ran for two hours, the longest I had that day, and it went slower and more painful than any time in my life.

"A-ten-hut!" our physical training teacher for that month, Asuma-sensei, shouted, signaling all 40 of us to organize ourselves into two straight lines. It was towards the end of the last hour and I sighed in relief thinking the class was finally over.

I was wrong.

"There's one last thing before I can let you go for your next class," Asuma-sensei said as he paced up and down the row of students and eyeing every single one of them. He stopped right in front of a Tayuya (who was also in my class much to my dismay).

"One-on-one practice spar," he said with a smile and crease on his brow, "We'll play it king-of-the-hill style." He walked over to one of the sparring circles in front of us and kicked the dirt.

"We will start off with two and the winner will fight until he's knocked out of the ring," Asuma-sensei explained, folding his arms, "Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" the class chanted. I groaned in my head. This was not going to go well… I had no freaking idea how to fight. I came from a regular high school, grew up with a regular family and lived a regular teenager's life for pete's sake. Where in the hell, in all that, was I supposed to know how to fight?

I almost wanted to raise my hand and excuse myself for the rest of my life. But I didn't.

"Alright, Uchiha Sasuke up," Asuma-sensei said as he moved to the outside of the circle, "Versus Naraku Akihiro." Huh, I had the opportunity to see why the Chess was so fearsome. The two boys went up to the circle, put their fist up against their open palms and bowed as a sign of respect. I peered over the shoulder of a boy in front of me to get a better look.

"Begin!"

It was pretty much over in a second. Akihiro charged at him aiming to punch him square in the face but Sasuke, in a blink of an eye, smoothly caught his extended arm, twisted it, knocked Akihiro's stance with his left leg and pushed him to the ground.

"Match! Winner, Uchiha Sasuke," Asuma- sensei said as the boy got up from the ground when Sasuke let himself off of him, "Next! Kenji!"

Sasuke was fast and I've never seen anyone fight like that before. Scratch that, I've never seen anyone fight at all before. But even then, I knew that what he did right there was exceptional. I gulped when I realized I wasn't off the hook; I had to go up there just like everybody else.

When I got up there, what the hell was I supposed to do? Especially when Uchiha Sasuke, who was beating everybody in less than a minute, was up there?

"Match! Winner, Uchiha Sasuke. Next! Yamanaka Ino!"

I froze. My name had finally been called and my mind raced. I knew I had absolutely no chance again him, or anyone here at all, so what was I supposed to do? As I nervously walked up to the sparring circle, I heard Tayuya snickering behind me.

"You're gonna get your ass whooped bad," she said. I glanced at her with the corner of my eye and saw 76 pairs of eyes fixated on me. I felt a drop of sweat drip down my templed.

"Hey, pay attention Ino," Asuma-sensei said, snapping his fingers. The terror started to build up and severely clog my throat. Sasuke eyed me with unamused eyes and looked like he didn't acknowledge the fact that I was his next opponent.

I was just the next person in line and he was going to cut through me to finish off the rest.

"I'll go easy on you," he said, one corner of his lips slightly curved up to make a smirk. The sudden change in demeanor took me by surprise and my fear started to mix with annoyance. He was mocking me. We bowed, but kept our eye contact his eyes still as stone and mine burning. If I couldn't kick his as physically, I was going to mentally.

I had no real idea how to fight, but I got a small gist of how to move from watching the other kids. I knew had no chance against this guy but I hated being looked at with utter contempt. The frustration and annoyance that I've been feeling up till then was starting to take over me again and this time I just let it. I was dead set on at least landing one hit, no matter how ridiculous it looked.

"Begin!"

Before I could even think of how to move, I found myself on the ground on my back with his forearm across my neck and his knee lightly on my stomach. He leaned in and smirked at me. I heard Tayuya laughing in what sounded like a distance.

"Checkmate," he said, and pushed himself off of me, "Dollie."

"Match! Winner, Uchiha Sasuke. Next! Akimichi Chouji!"

He was just as annoying as Suigetsu.

**-XoxOxoX-**

_So this chapter ran longer than I intended and I realize that it's because I've included too many small part but I just decided to keep them since I wanted to make it seem like a movie/episode feel. I hope it works! But anyway, critiques are greatly appreciated! Stop by and leave a review with questions, concerns, or suggestions. __ Thanks for reading!_


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